Mary Syrett - January 2012

The Chesapeake's Magical Striped Bass

by

Mary Syrett

Striped bass, also known as Rockfish or simply as Striper, is a creature that inspires passion. Striped bass are fun to fish for and fun to catch. They are called stripers because the seven or eight dark stripes that line the side of the body start behind the gills and end at the base of the tail. Living up to 31 years, a striped bass can weigh 125 lbs. (this was a female taken from North Carolina waters in 1891). The rod and reel record of 78 lbs., 8 ounces, held by Al McReynolds, was caught from the Vermont Avenue Jetty off Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1982. Belonging to the Percichthydae family, favorite striper habitat includes estuaries, tidal flats, salt marshes, lakes, ponds, oceans, bays, shallows, rivers and streams.
The current State of Maryland Chesapeake Bay record striped bass weighed 67 lbs., 8 ounces; it was caught by Devin Nolan off Bloody Point in 1995. The average Chesapeake Bay six-year-old female fish produces approximately 500,000 eggs, while a 15-year-old can produce over three million eggs. Striped bass tagged in Chesapeake Bay have been recaptured in Canadian waters, over 1,000 miles away.
On the Striper Coast (the East Coast of the United States), the striped bass species ranges from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Nova Scotia south to the Georgia/Florida border. Only two East Coast reservoirs have self-sustaining striped bass populations: the Kerr Reservoir in Virginia and North Carolina, and the Santee Cooper Reservoir in South Carolina. All other impoundments are stocked.
The striped bass can be found on both the east and west coasts of the United States. The fish has been successfully introduced into various inland lakes, reservoirs and river systems around America by state game and fish commissions for the purposes of recreational fishing and as a predator for controlling populations of gizzard shad. Those bodies of water include Elephant Butte Lake in New Mexico; Lake Ouachita and Lake Norfolk in Arkansas; Lakes Powell, Pleasant and Havasu in Arizona; Lake Lanier in Georgia; Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee and Lake Mead in Nevada.
Long before Europeans set foot in North America, the striped bass was the most prolific fish to be found on the Atlantic seacoast. Upon entering Chesapeake Bay in the early 1600s, Captain John Smith noted their abundance. The Pilgrims found striped bass to be a great natural resource and used funds generated from the sale of striped bass to the English to build the first school in New England. The Pilgrims were also the first to use the now famous method of surf casting from beaches to catch them.
Four important bodies of water with breeding stocks of striped bass, in addition to Chesapeake Bay, are Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod, the Hudson River and the Delaware River. In Chesapeake Bay, breeding populations of striped bass from Delaware Bay have intermingled.
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest spawning area in the country for striped bass. A majority of the striped bass inhabiting the Atlantic Seaboard migrates into the Chesapeake Bay on their way to spawn each year. In March, when water temperatures dip into the 50s, stripers begin moving into Chesapeake Bay seeking freshwater rivers in which to spawn. This is prime striper season. If you want to catch large striped bass during the spring, spawning season is definitely the time.
Diet. Stripers are nocturnal feeders. Adult striped bass are considered to be piscivorous (fish eating). They eat almost any kind of small fish, as well as crabs, squid, eels, live menhaden and croakers.
Fishery studies indicate that almost one hundred percent of a striped bass’s diet is composed of shad, herring and other small fish. Favorite baits used by striper anglers include alewife herring, which are found from Maine to Tennessee. An easy way to catch alewife is to attract them to lights at night where they can be caught using cast nets.
Each winter, thousands of anglers converge on Virginia’s and Maryland’s coast with one thing on their minds—stripers. Chesapeake Bay produces some of the best striped bass action on the East Coast. More large striped bass are caught off Virginia Beach during the winter months than anywhere else in the world.
When surf fishing features plugs and live eels, many anglers prefer 10- to 12 foot-long surf rods and conventional reels spooled with 30- to 40-pound test monofilament line. However, a medium to heavy spinning rod with 12- to 20-pound test monofilament line is considered ideal by many anglers for plugging, jigging or offering bottom fished baits to striped bass.
Striped bass generally spend their time in the middle sections of lakes, in deeper water than most fish. Their primary prey fish is shad. Stripers will eat just about any fish they can get their mouths around. When you catch a striper, you can rest assured there will be others close by. For the ultimate thrill, try large topwater baits whenever you see topwater feeding action. Trolling is also an excellent way to fish for stripers.
Where to Fish. If you’re on the Virginia side of the Chesapeake Bay and want to catch a striper, you need to travel no farther than the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, which offers seven miles of prime striped bass fishing between four man-made islands. Popular fishing techniques include trolling deep running baits down the length of the bridge.
On the Maryland end of the Chesapeake Bay, check out the William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge, which has long been a hot spot for striped bass.
Virginia Seasons and Regulations. During Virginia’s trophy season – between May 1 and May 15 – you may keep any striped bass that measures no less than 30 inches. During spring season, or between May 16 and June 15, you may keep two striped bass between 18 and 28 inches per person. The fall season carries the same regulations as the spring season and lasts between October 4 and December 31.
Maryland Seasons and Regulations. During spring trophy season, or between April 17 and May 15 in Maryland, you may keep one striped bass per person, and it must be at least 28 inches long. Between May 16 and December 15, you may keep two striped bass between 18 and 28 inches. You may keep only one more if it exceeds 28 inches.
Where, Specifically, to Fish for Striped Bass. There are a couple of places around Chesapeake Bay that are exceptionally well known for striper fishing. These include Kiptopeke State Park on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. (Kiptopeke Virginia State Park, 3540 Kiptopeke Drive, Cape Charles, VA 23310.) Also, the Susquehanna Flats are a shallow area near where the Susquehanna River flows into the Bay. The water bottom here is exceptionally muddy. This creates an area of warm water that stripers use as a resting place on their way to spawn in the Susquehanna River that makes for exceptionally fine fishing.
Cooking. Striped bass can be expertly baked, broiled or grilled. If steaks are cut particularly thick, they can be stuffed with slices of bacon, onions, tomatoes, green peppers, parsley, apples or cranberries and spiced to taste. Place the lightly floured fish in a foil baking dish, add one cup of mild red wine and bake at 400 degrees F. until fish flakes.
Striped bass has been one of the most sought after commercial and recreational fish in the Chesapeake Bay since colonial times. After a steep population decline in the 1980s, Chesapeake Bay striped bass are now at their highest number in decades.
Striped bass are one of the top predators in the Chesapeake Bay food chain. As a result, they must have enough prey – primarily menhaden and bay anchovies – available to them to keep their population healthy and the food web in balance. This is the most important commercial and recreational fish species in the Chesapeake Bay. Its size, fighting ability and delicious taste makes rockfish one of the top sport fish along the East Coast.

Mary Syrett is a freelance writer and an avid student of nature.